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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine." And He said to them, "Go." So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

- Matthew 8:28-34

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to
depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him,
"Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him,
"Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then another of His disciples said to
Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said, to
him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a
great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the
waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke
Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them,
"Why are you so fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and
rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men
marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey
Him?" When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes,
there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs,
exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly
they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of
God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" Now a good way
off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons
begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the
herd of swine." And He said to them, "Go." So when they had come out,
they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine
ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the
water. Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city
and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed
men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they
saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. Jesus has told the disciples to set sail for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Similar stories appear in other of the Gospels, but in this one there are two demoniacs, rather than one. It's not the only time that a kind of "doubling" seems to appear in Matthew. Perhaps it is an indication that Jesus, as Messiah, comes into the world for both Gentiles and Jews. In Luke and Mark, there is one demoniac (although possessed of a "legion" of demons), and some suggest perhaps that this is because, similarly to the story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, only one responded to Jesus' call (and there are other significant details in both accounts of Luke and Mark that are not included here). Here we note that the demons recognize Jesus as Son of God, and that they are surprised that their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment. My study bible says that although the malice of the demons is great, they can do nothing against the will of God, and can only enter the swine at Christ's command. It notes that the immediate destruction of the herd shows that the men had been protected by God's care, else they would have perished under demonic influence. It emphasizes that swineherding was not lawful for Jews, and shows, as my study bible says, "the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice."

It's interesting to note that in our previous reading, Jesus has just told a would-be followers, rather shockingly, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." There is a tie here in the details of the demon-possessed men (which fits as well with the other Gospel accounts) in that they live in the tombs here in this place where the people also seem to have forgotten the God of Israel (presumably they are apostate Jews, under Gentile influence in this region, who raise swine). This would also be why their response is to beg Jesus to leave their region, more upset about the loss of the swine than impressed with the casting out of the demons from the men. It shows a very materialistic outlook; the healing of these human beings takes a clear back seat to the immediate loss of their livestock. They don't stop to think what else Jesus might do for them, all they can see is the loss of livelihood. In some way, it parallels an overarching theme of the Gospels, the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leadership. When Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, in Luke's Gospel, He mourns, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." These people raising swine seem to be unable to see "the things that make for peace." They are "hidden from their eyes." It's a theme that is repeated in Matthew, as Jesus quotes from Isaiah, for example in chapter 13: "For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." The failure to truly see and to perceive is perhaps the great crux here: although many may be physically healed, to truly perceive what is behind the wonders and miracles and healings of Christ takes another kind of perception altogether -- and these are the disciples and followers He has come to claim, particularly among the people of God, Israel. The Gospel will go out to all the world, but He has come first to the Jews, and Matthew is written primarily for a Jewish audience well aware of the spiritual history of Israel and the Jewish Scriptures. These men are lost to the demonic, living among the tombs, in a wild and fierce life, away from "the things that make for peace." They are both restored, but the real question remains: what happens to them in this community? Who lives, and who is dead? We remember also the Life in the tomb to come. What of the true spiritual healing Jesus is here to reveal and to offer as the gift of grace, the light that is the true life of the world? Perhaps Matthew's "doubling" is really a question of Judgment: God "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (5:45), but who in Israel can "hear" the Messiah? That is the question that remains in this account; and we are all to ask ourselves who in this story is truly "godforsaken." It's a question we can all ask ourselves about our lives today as well.

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